Child abuse could be referred to the act of maltreating, a
child. Maltreatment of child could be  in the form of physical, sexual neglect or emotional abuse of the child. These abuses usually occur at home, school or community.
In some developed countries, the prevention of child abuse is among their  top priority and this issue is addressed with strict laws and policies that help  to curtail it. Different  bodies have also specified their opinion of what constitutes child  abuse.
According to a journal  of child abuse neglect child  abuse “is any recent act of failure to act on the part of a parent or caretaker which results in death, serious physical or emotional harm, sexual abuse or exploitation, an act of failure to act which presents an imminent risk of serious harm”.
Physically abusing a child usually involves a direct physical  aggression towards a child. Most countries that implement the law of child abuse consider the intentional infliction of severe injuries or action that has a tendency of placing a child at a conspicuous risk of acquiring serious injuries or may cause death, bruises, scratches, broken bones etc as physical abuse.
Similarly involvement of a child in sexual activities, which is aimed towards physical gratification or for financial purpose of the person committing the act could be referred to as sexual abuse. The various ways of abusing a child could be forcing, or asking a child for sexual satisfaction, not withstanding the outcome, sexual touching of the child’s genitals, exposing one’s genitals indecently to a child, actual sexual contact with a child etc.
Often times those who are involved in sexual abuse of children are usually related to the family or regarded as family friends. They include brothers, fathers,  mothers uncles, cousins, friends of the family and often times baby sitters and neighbours with few cases of strangers.
Another aspect of child abuse is neglecting. Failure of a parent or guardian to provide  the basic needs of a child could also be considered as child  abuse. Needs such as food, shelter, clothing, medical care, supervision of the child’s health and  safety of child are the sole responsibility of the parents or guardan.
When a child  is frequently absent  from school, always looking unkept, and lacks sufficient clothings, it is a clear indication that the child is being neglected which could be associated with child abuse.
Another obvious factor of child abuse which is commonly found on the streets of our beloved country Nigeria is children hawking wares. Experts have referred  to these acts of child molestation as child labour.
Many parents send their children to hawk ware for  various reasons ranging from poverty, tradition and  supplementing family income among others.
However, these reasons expose them to dangers which are particularly worse if they are females. In some communities only girls hawk, while their parents  and male  children  stay at home.
These children leave home as early as 6. am  and most times return as late as 11.pm.  They  hawk  under all kinds of weather  condition.
Some of them whose guardians or parents beat and starve  for not making enough sales even hawk in the rain.
The fact that some of the children hawk in groups has not apparently reduced the problems and dangers they encounter on daily basis. They are always looking tired, worn out, hungry with torn clothes. Their shoulders always  drooping and hunched, barely able to lift their feet.
They are so unfortunately poor and cannot even afford to go to school except in the form of roaming about with their  wares.
They shuffle  around like acrobats in and out of traffic, motor parks,  road junctions, public offices, market places and schools.
They have potentials, but unfortunately they seldom  get around to realise their potentials. Except maybe  as hired  thugs to politicians or militants. The lucky ones will  graduate into big time  touts, bus conductor, and small-time pick  pockets. The not-so-lucky ones, however, will become drug peddle, prostitutes, arm nobbes and social  mis-fits in the society.
Sick perverts capitalize  on this  accepted practice o f street trading to carry out their dubious plans against innocent looking children. They lure these  unsuspecting traders to their house with the pretext of patronising them. Minutes later the innocent  girl is sexually assured  and threats of punishment would silence them from shouting out.
The consequences of these sick acts are usually unwanted  pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases, psychological  breakdown and the fear of men.
A category of people like poor parents, women with lazy  husbands who do not provide for the family, widows, widowers, sick and disabled parents with able children feel they should not be blamed  for sending  their  children hawking because  they are helpless.
But there are  other ways children can help mum and dad in the family other than hawking wares for them. No parent should use their conditions as an excuse to resort to sending their underage children out on the ever dangerous street to hawk. Who really benefits  from it?
In some homes the parents sit at  home all day doing nothing and live on the profit from what their children have produced. Some guardians or step  parents derive  pleasure or make it  a hobby to send children hawking, even  when  they can comfortably provide for their family.
It is the responsibility of every parent or guardian to protect and promote  the education and welfare of their children and ward. They should  not use their children for commercial activities no matters how poor they are.
This is because it exposes them to violence and other social ills such as accidents, kidnapping and rape.
Parents should be re-oriented towards accepting their responsibilities of taking care of their families. When parents accept their  responsibilities of  taking care of their children, there would be no need for children to hawk.

Iragunima resides in Port Harcourt.

Benice Iragunima